Spiritual Home: Mozambique

A model-turned-activist finds herself in Africa

Ask model Summer Rayne Oakes, 24, to describe East African nation Mozambique and she'll tell you: "Imagine the entire United States eastern coast but with white sand beaches." And though the 5'10" Brooklynite can rock a bikini, she's not rolling in the African surf for SI's next swimsuit issue—she's at the Mezimbite Forest Center, a community workshop in the desperately poor central Sofala Province, run by her South African business partner, Allan Schwarz. "Seventy-five percent of the forest has been obliterated by foreign loggers, so we plant, and train locals to create high quality housewares out of stump wood," says Oakes, who has become deeply attached to her work-heavy visits. "It's liberating; I could hitchhike the length of Mozambique without being afraid." (This is the country that Leonardo DiCaprio spoke of so fondly after filming Blood Diamond there.)

Her annual commutes to Mozambique are tricky. She flies into Johannesburg and then drives or flies to Maputo or Beira. Once she arrives, here's where you'll find her.

STAY: At the built-on-stilts Flamingo Bay Water Lodge in Inhambane; at blissful ecoboutique- hotel Azura, which reopens after renovations this July ( azura-retreats.com); or pitch a tent at the Mezimbite Forest Center

EAT: At Zambi in capital city Maputo; at the Hotel Escondidinho in Ilha de Moçambique; or with friendly locals who catch and cook rainbow fish for a few meticais